After months of trade speculation, Sean Murphy may on the verge of leaving Oakland, as MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand (Twitter link) reports that “the Athletics appear to be getting close to” moving the catcher. While multiple teams are in the running, the Braves are somewhat surprisingly “considered the frontrunners” to pry Murphy away from the A’s.
This isn’t the first time Atlanta has been linked to Murphy, as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported about the Braves’ interest just two days ago. However, that interest was characterized mostly as a case of due diligence, and how Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos is open to exploring all trade possibilities, even if his team is seemingly set at a position.
Even with William Contreras, Travis d’Arnaud, and Manny Pina all on the catching depth chart, it makes sense why Atlanta could view Murphy as a preferable option to its in-house choices. Murphy is both a quality hitter (.236/.326/.429 slash line over his career, 116 wRC+) and a quality defender (excellent framing numbers and a Gold Glove in 2021), plus he is still arbitration-controlled through the 2025 season. Projected for a modest $3.5MM salary in 2023, Murphy’s team control is naturally attractive to any club, and perhaps particularly so for a Braves team that has started to approach the luxury tax threshold for the first time since 1998.
More to come…
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